(Minghui.org) I am 74 years old. I obtained the Fa on New Year's in 1998. At that time, I was disease-ridden. The right side of my body and legs were numb. I couldn't raise my right hand. I had lost the ability to do physical labor when I was about 30. My entire body felt very cold. I had to wrap up in a five-foot blanket to keep warm. With severe stomach and gynecological diseases, coupled with the heavy burden of life, I wanted to die. In 1997, my condition became so serious that I was barely alive.
Obtaining the Fa and Starting Cultivation
Prior to the 1998 New Year, my daughter asked me to come to her house, saying that she knew of a pretty famous Chinese doctor who could help me. The night before I went, I had a dream. I dreamed about my granddaughter holding a book and smiling at me.
I was born in a rural area. According to the Chinese Community Party, I belonged to one of the “Bad Elements,” so during the Cultural Revolution, I was one of the Party's targets.
As a young woman, I learned to smoke and drink, thinking that would help ease my stress. When I was at my daughter's house, I told her I wanted to smoke a cigarette. She told me to go out on the balcony to smoke and said “I practice Falun Gong. My Master's law body is here. You can't smoke in the house.” So I went out on the balcony to smoke.
As soon as I smelled the cigarette, I wanted to throw up. I felt dizzy, as if I was having a motion sickness. My daughter told me “It looks like you can't smoke anymore. My Master is now looking after you, and He doesn't let you smoke. Go to the practice site in the park tomorrow to join the practitioners there. You already known some of them.”
The next morning, I went to the park. It took me half an hour to walk just 50 meters. When the assistant saw me, she said, “Oh, you've come. Welcome.” I told her that I just wanted to watch, as I was not well-educated and uncertain whether I could learn the practice. She said “No problem!” So I started imitating how they did the exercises. The assistant told me that they practiced the exercises two times each day, once in the morning and again in the evening. I went to the practice site in the evening as well.
After finishing the exercises, they read Master's book. I was surprised that the book they were reading was the one I had dreamed about. I started to wonder if the reason I went to my daughter's house was to learn the Falun Gong practice. Since I was illiterate, I listened to them carefully when they read the book.
Seven days later, I felt a stinging sensation in my right foot (which had been numb for decades). When I squeezed it, I felt some pain. I was extremely happy and went to tell my daughter. She asked me if I still wanted to see the doctor the next day. I said I wouldn't. I said, “I will just practice Falun Gong.”
From there, I embarked on the journey of cultivating in Falun Gong.
Due to the long-term, heavy labor I had done, my fingers had become sturdy and short. My nails had worn out long ago. Shortly after I began the practice, my fingers grew longer and my nails grew back. I had no words to describe how happy I was.
Because of these miraculous changes, I became even more diligent in my cultivation. I practiced the exercises three times a day. No matter how hot it was, I wouldn't turn on the fan when doing the exercises and just let the sweat wash over my face. After I finished, the place where I stood was wet with sweat. I was very firm in the practice because Master said suffering can eliminate karma.
My whole body was quickly purified. All my diseases disappeared. I felt very light and full of joy. My skin became more delicate and I looked younger than my age. My daughter-in-law told my son, “Mom's skin is better than ours, just like a baby's.”
Recognizing Words
Six months later, our assistant said, “You've been practicing the exercises for half a year now. You can't just listen to us while we are reading. You've got to study it by yourself, too.” I told her that I was illiterate. She said, “We will teach you at the site. Just follow when we read. When you go home, ask your daughter or granddaughter to teach you.”
That's how I started to “read” Zhuan Falun , though I didn't know what I was reading. When the assistant said, “Go to page 260,” I didn't know what she meant, because I didn't know what “260” looked like. Practitioners at the practice site were very patient with me. They helped me turn to the page.
After that, I would pick up Zhuan Falun when I got home and start to read it beginning with Lunyu, even though I didn't know a lot of characters. I began to listen to Master's audio lecture in Jinan. When Master's new articles came out, I would ask my daughter and granddaughter to teach me. Because I had never gone to school, my tongue was very stiff when I tried to read out loud. But I wasn't discouraged, and kept reading and memorizing the words day after day.
Half a year later, I was basically able to study the book Zhuan Falun with the group. I had memorized Lunyu . A year later, I could study Zhuan Falun by myself. But the only words I could recognize were the ones found in Master's books. I couldn't recognize anything if it was outside of Master's work.
Master is very compassionate. He swept away my illnesses, gave me the Fa, and remolded me completely into a good person. Not only did he give me a healthy body, but also taught me the Fa and guided me to become a better person who is more selfless and compassionate. There are few words that can describe how grateful I am to Master. I can only say I am sincerely grateful and "Thank you, Master."
Listening to Master, Looking Inward, and Passing Tribulations
I often listened to Master's audio and watched the video lectures in Jinan. I always listened and watched attentively and tried to memorize what Master said and gauge my behavior by His teaching.
In Zhuan Falun , Master said, “Zhen-Shan-Ren is the sole criterion to discern good and bad people.” In my daily life, I always use this principle to guide my daily conduct. When reading Zhuan Falun , sometimes I stop, think a little, look inward, and see if I live up to the Fa principles.
I learned how to look inward when I first started to cultivate.
Although my daughter is also a practitioner, she still gave me a lot of opportunities to raise my xinxing. She sometimes suddenly picked on me for no reason or said something that was hard to bear. When that happened, I always told myself she was trying to upgrade my xinxing. Then I looked inward to see if there were attachments I hadn't let go of, or if I unwittingly said something that hurt her feelings. When I found out the cause, her attitude instantly changed.
I've cultivated myself bit by bit through looking within.
When I have conflicts with others, or they treat me unfairly, I always try to remember what Master said in Zhuan Falun :
“You should always maintain a heart of compassion and kindness. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you room to buffer the confrontation.”
One February, the vegetables that my son planted were about to ripen. I went to the field and helped him harvest them from morning to noon. I was so busy, I didn't even eat lunch. At about 4 p.m., I hurried to bring two bags of vegetable to my daughter's aunt.
As soon as I got there, her aunt started yelling at me for no reason. My daughter was there also. She was smiling at me. Later I learned why the aunt was so upset with me. During the New Year, we had gone together to one of our other relative's house and then to eat in a restaurant. I clarified the truth to four waitresses. Later on, their boss found out about it and reported them to the police. Someone had come to her house asking for me and threatened to send me to the police. She was upset because she felt she had lost face because of me.
I was very hungry before, but I didn't feel it anymore after being yelled at for some time. After she finished badmouthing me, she said, “You are not welcome in my house anymore. Get out!”
My daughter and I went home. My daughter asked me if I was angry at her. I told her she was helping me to upgrade my xinxing. After thatt, I tried to look within for what really caused the problem. On New Year's Day, when we dined at the restaurant, I was the only Falun Gong practitioner there. There were four waitresses, and I clarified the truth to them. Their boss later found out. That was the story. I saw that I didn't handle the situation perfectly. I forgot to tell the waitresses to read the truth-clarification materials at home. I also realized that I had the attachment of zealotry and had thus been taken advantage of by the evil.
There was another, bigger tribulation. My son's family lived with his parents-in-law. One day, his father-in-law was hit by a car and hospitalized. My son and daughter-in-law had to work, and my granddaughter had to go to school. So my son had me come to his home to cook and take care of my granddaughter. Every day, I had to cook for a family of six and do all the housework until my son's father-in-law was discharged from the hospital. During this time, his mother-in-law didn't help me at all. I stayed there to help him for almost a year. I was always very busy with cooking, cleaning, and other chores.
One day, my granddaughter said, “Grandma, I want some fried dumplings,” so I made them for her. After I finished making them, I asked her to take some to her grandfather. Just then, her grandfather came out of his room, and, without saying anything, turned the table upside down, spilling all the food on the floor.
I immediately recalled what Master said in Zhuan Falun :
“As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant. Otherwise, what kind of practitioner will you be?”
I calmly looked at him. My daughter-in-law came in and was so scared that she didn't say a word. I cleaned up the floor and later cooked dinner. At night, I thought to myself that, as a practitioner, nothing is accidental. There must be a problem on my part that caused it, so I tried looking within. I found that I'd always tended to “spoil” little children and didn't consider my in-laws' feelings. Moreover, as a practitioner, Master asked us to do the three things well. But I was so busy cooking and cleaning for my son's family, I didn't go out to save any sentient beings. That wasn't right!
I wanted to talk to my daughter-in-law. As I was looking for her, she came in, and explained to me that her father had always had a bad temper and said it would be best for me to go. That's what I wanted to do. I felt this was Master's arrangement. After that, I got back into Fa study and doing the three things.
I've cultivated in Dafa for over 10 years and have had many experiences.
Thinking back about my cultivation, I truly feel Master's great compassion and magnificence. I was just a humble farmer, stricken by illnesses and illiterate, yet I was completely transformed and remolded by Dafa. At present, not only do I have good health but have also become literate and kindhearted. There's no words to express my deep gratitude for Master. I can only kowtow and thank Master!
These are just some of the understandings and experiences I've had in my cultivation. Please kindly point out any inadequacies.
